the organic
additives serve as food for the microorganisms, leading to an
increase in microbial biomass C and CO2 emission rates.
Considering all treatments, the significant positive correlation
between the Cmic concentrations and the CO2 emission rates after
four weeks (rs = 0.85) without detectable positive correlations
between Cmic and the macro-aggregate parameters points towards
the direct pathway in week one to four of the experiment. The
larger amounts of bioavailable C derived from the biochar/slurry,
slurry, and manure additions may have led to larger microbial
biomass and CO2 evolution compared to the control and biochar
treatments with no positive effect on the macro-aggregate
formation